


Our First Christmas

by SrAjam



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-02-25 04:34:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 8,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22010098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SrAjam/pseuds/SrAjam
Summary: Nick and Judy’s first Christmas after the fox became the bunny’s partner at the ZPD.
Relationships: Judy Hopps/Nick Wilde
Comments: 5
Kudos: 59





	1. On Vacation!

December had arrived and all the mammals in Zootopia were ready for Christmas, colorful lights decorated the streets and buildings of the city as well as the offices of the Zootopia Police Department, where many officers impatiently waited for their shifts to end and for their vacations to begin. All of them gathered in the mission room and stared at the wall clock for a few minutes until the moment arrived.

"Five!, four!, three!, two!, one!" they counted back before celebrating and leaving the room.

Before they left the station, the bunny and the fox went to the locker rooms to change their uniforms for some more comfortable clothing. Then they walked to the parking lot, where Clawhauser's sister Tina, a forensic scientist at the ZPD, and Officer Alex Felinho, her boyfriend and a panther, were waiting for them to go get some drinks.

"Nick! Judy!" Tina waved her paw at them.

"What's up, doc?...Felinho" the fox greeted them.

"Have you guys seen Ben?...his shift was supposed to end 15 minutes ago" asked the female cheetah.

"Well he isn't in the reception, we would have seen him" said Judy.

"There he is" Nick spotted him walking out of the station.

"Ben, what happened?" her sister asked when she noticed his bummed face.

"Oh nothing, I just sent a text to Bogo, and he gave me a twenty-minute talk about not using the phone during work hours" the male cheetah rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

"Don't worry, Ben...Chief Buffalo Butt can be a little grumpy sometimes" Nick comforted him.

"Yeah, let's get some drinks...that'll cheer you up" added Alex.

"Thanks guys" Clawhauser smiled and tightly hugged them both.

Once ready, the group of mammals began to walk through the festively illuminated streets of Zootopia until they arrived to a bar, which was decorated with garlands, candy canes, Christmas ornaments and a tree wrapped with red, green and white lights.

Judy, Ben and Tina sat at a round table, while Nick and Alex ordered the drinks. After a few minutes the panther and the fox came back.

"Okay...we have a lager beer for tiny Tina and a light beer for his brother" Alex carefully handled the cheetahs their drinks.

"One with lemon for the cute bunny" Nick's comment made Judy roll her eyes.

"And two pints for us" said the panther before sitting down.

"Ahhh...it feels so good to finally have some rest from work" commented the bunny after taking the first sip of her drink.

"Yeah, we won't be seeing Chief Bogo for a while" said Alex.

"Just for a couple of weeks though" added Tina.

"A couple of weeks is more than enough to forget about Buffalo Butt" smirked Nick.

"Talking about a couple of weeks, you guys have any plans for Christmas Eve and New Year's?" asked Ben.

"Oh! Babe, tell them ours" said Tina excited as she tapped the panther's shoulder repeatedly.

"Okay, okay...we're going to spend a week and a half in Snowy Hills" revealed Alex.

"Yeah!...we booked a room in the best hotel of Tundratown" the female cheetah hugged the panther.

"Wow, that sounds very romantic" Judy smiled.

"Hmm...they're leaving me alone" Ben looked away and crossed his arms.

"We're not!...we'll spend Christmas Eve and New Year's together" said his sister.

"And while we're out...you can invite someone to...watch a movie or something" Alex raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah, what about that cheetah from your cooking classes you told me about?...you guys went on a date, right?" Nick finished his question despite Ben's gestures trying to stop him.

"You went on a date!?" excitedly asked his sister.

"I-It was just once" Ben blushed and took another sip of beer.

"Oh my god, you have to tell me everything!" said the cheetah before the panther hugged and calmed her down.

"Okay, Tina...let him have some privacy...what about you, Hopps?...are you doing something special?" asked Alex.

"Nah...I'm going to spend Christmas with my family...like every year" said Judy before drinking.

"Back to the burrows, Carrots?" asked the smiling fox.

"Yeah, I'm leaving tomorrow...but what about you?...do you have something planned?" curiously asked the bunny.

"Well...I've never been a huge fan of Christmas, so I guess I'll just keep going with my routine"

"You don't like Christmas?" Judy's ears leaned back.

"It's not that I don't like it...it's just that I haven't really celebrated it since I was little"

"Oh, Nick...if I knew that I would have stayed here to make you some company"

"Don't worry, Fluff...besides, you have to spend some time with your relatives, they have been worrying about the first bunny cop in Zootopia all year...and if you don't visit them for Christmas because you stayed in the big city with such an attractive fox, they'll probably worry even more" the fox slyly smiled, making Judy roll her eyes.

After the group finished their drinks, they paid the bill and walked out of the bar before splitting in two groups. Nick and Judy said goodbye to Ben, Tina and Alex before walking in opposite directions. The bunny and the fox enjoyed the walk to her apartment, the many highly decorated trees on the sides of the streets and the lights that hanged between the buildings made it more amusing.

"You didn't have to accompany me" said Judy when they arrived to the building of her apartment.

"Well...since I won't be seeing you for two whole weeks...I wanted to say goodbye" the fox put his paws in his pockets and smiled.

"Merry Christmas, Nick" said the bunny before hugging the fox.

"Merry Christmas, Judy" he corresponded the hug, which lasted a bit less than ten seconds.

"See ya" said the bunny before entering the building.

Nick just stood there, with the smile still on his face, until Judy walked up the stairs. After opening the door, the bunny prepared to go to bed, she took off her clothes and replaced them with a warm pajama before setting an alarm on her phone and getting into bed.

By the time she was asleep, Nick had already arrived to his apartment. The fox took off his sweater and laid down on his bed but due to the many lights that came through his window and curtains, he took longer than Judy to fall asleep.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	2. Arrival to the Burrows

It was nine o'clock in the morning, the alarm on Judy's phone went off and an insufferable beeping sound broke the silence in her apartment. She reached for the device and, after turning off the alarm, sat up on the bed. The bunny stretched a few times before leaving bed.

Judy turned on the coffee maker before walking into the bathroom and taking a quick shower. After using a towel to dry her grey fur, the bunny put on a pink sweater and a pair of jeans before making a cup of coffee.

When she finished the hot drink, Judy checked her suitcase for the last time before leaving her apartment.

The bunny walked for a few minutes until arriving to the Zootopia Central Station. As soon as she walked in, Judy looked at the big screen where the arrivals and departures where shown and then proceeded to check the arrival time of her train.

"10:45…" the bunny looked up at the big clock above the screen "...9:54…I guess I'll be here for a while" thought Judy as she walked around the crowded train station until she spotted a pastry stand in the distance.

The delicious smell of the sweets filled her snout as the bunny got closer, after taking a look at all of the pastries, Judy bought two chocolate-filled croissants. She put them in a paper bag and sat on a bench to eat them and wait for her train.

Meanwhile, at Nick's house, the sunlight that came through his window began to wake the fox up. He growled and covered his head with the bed sheets but that didn't help him to fall asleep again so he sat on the edge of the bed before yawning and rubbing his eyes.

The fox got up and walked into the bathroom, he brushed his teeth and took a shower before dressing up with a green roll neck jumper, a dark jacket and a pair of pants.

Judy suddenly felt her phone vibrate in her pocket, she received a text from Nick.

"Good morning, Fluff! Hope you have a great time in Carrot Town with all of the cute bunnies"

"PD: If your sisters ask for your attractive fox partner...you can show them this" he sent a picture of him winking.

"Thanks, dumb fox" typed Judy while chuckling.

Just a few minutes later, the bunny's train finally arrived to the station, after getting on it she put her suitcase on a tray under her seat. When the train started moving Judy put on her earphones and rested her head on the window to admire the landscape of the city while listening to some pop music.

After Nick left his apartment he went to a little bar in his neighborhood, like every other morning he didn't have to work.

As soon as he walked in, the sound of the coffee makers and the slot machine that was near the entrance filled his ears while the smell of the freshly made orange juice and few cigarette butts on the ashtrays made his snout twitch.

"Nick, honey!" greeted him Mayte, a middle aged vixen that knows the fox since he was a cub.

"Morning Mayte" Nick smiled as he took of his jacket and put it on the seat he sat on.

"It's been a long time since I last saw you around here...what have you been up to?" asked the vixen as she started preparing the fox's coffee.

"Meh, not much...just working"

"Oh, Nick...you always so hardworking..." she placed the cup of coffee, a teaspoon and a packet of sugar on a little plate before adding a piece of homemade chocolate cake "...my treat" Mayte winked at the fox before leaving to attend another mammal.

Nick smiled and enjoyed his breakfast while watching the news in the TV that was hanging on the wall.

"Ladies and gentlemammals, we will arrive to the Bunnyburrow Train Station in five minutes" a voice announced in Judy's train.

The bunny took her suitcase and, once the train stopped, she got off the train expecting her relatives. Judy looked around the station but couldn't spot her parents.

"Judy!" a female voice called her.

"Joanna!" the bunny was able to spot one of her sisters, who was raising her arm.

As Judy walked towards her she recognized another of her sisters.

"Jenna!..." smiled Judy before the three bunnies hugged "...I missed you, girls"

"We missed you too, Judy" said Jenna, who was the youngest of the three bunnies.

"Yeah, almost a year in the big city...and you didn't even visit" ironically said Joanna, who was the same age as Judy.

"Oh, come on...I was very busy working" Judy grabbed her suitcase and the three bunnies left the station.

"Working, yeah right...sure you didn't meet someone special?" asked Jenna while playfully punching her sister's arm.

"Don't be silly" the grey bunny denied with her head.

"What about the fox that solved the nighthowlers case with you?...your photo was all over the news" asked Joanna.

"Nick is my best friend and after that he got into the academy and became my partner" Judy's smile made Joanna and Jenn look at each other.

As soon as the three bunnies arrived to the Hopps farm, most of Judy's little siblings ran towards them to greet their sister. After lots of hugs and kisses she could advance through the wave of cute bunnies and walk towards her parents.

"Welcome home, Judy" said Bonnie before she and Stu gave their daughter a long hug that was immediately corresponded by her.

"Oh...you guys" responded the bunny in a sad tone of voice.

"We're so glad you could come...and remember that you can stay as long as you can" commented Stu after they separated.

"Dad" Judy crossed her arms.

"Stu" added Bonnie.

"Okay, okay...let's get inside now, c'mon" he excused himself before they walked into the house.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	3. Home Sweet Home

Judy walked around the main living room and observed the furniture, the same wooden furniture that was there for most of her life, as she slowly got used to the smell of vegetables and dirt that didn't bother her while growing up.

"Judy, sweetie...have you had breakfast?" asked Bonnie from the kitchen.

"Yeah, I ate something on the way here" the bunny remembered the pair of delicious pastries she bought at the station.

"Don't you want me to fix you anything?" insisted her mother.

"It's okay mom, I'm not hungry" she sat down on one of the many couches they had in the living room.

"So, Judy, how's work?...got any big cases recently?" curiously asked her father as he sat on his armchair.

"Not really, it's all been paperwork and vigilance shifts" the grey bunny remembered the recent boring weeks of work she had at the ZPD.

"Well, that's a relief" whispered his father.

"Stu!..." Bonnie heard him "...we said we were gonna support her"

"I'm sorry, Judy, my dear...don't get me wrong, we know you can do really big things but we can't help worrying about you"

"Oh, come on, guys...I can take care of myself and I also have a partner that has my back" Judy grabbed her suitcase and stood up.

"Talking about the fox, when are you going to introduce us?" asked her mother.

"The fox is called Nick...and, I don't know, maybe I'll bring him here on another occasion...anyway, I'm going to unpack now, I'll be in my room" said Judy before walking through the corridors of the burrow until finding a purple wooden door with her name on it.

The grey bunny slowly turned the knob before pushing and entering her room. Nothing really changed, only that it was cleaner and better organized due to Bonnie coming in from time to time.

Judy walked around the room for a while, she looked at the few pictures of her that were on the wall before laying down on her bed, which was way more comfortable than the one she had in her apartment.

"Knock, knock" a female voice that came from the door made Judy get up.

"Julia!..." the grey bunny recognized her older sister, who was carrying her daughter "...aww, and who do we have here?...hi, Cotton!" Judy softly poked her little snout.

"Aunt Judy" babbled the little rabbit, warming the grey bunny's heart.

"And I don't know if you remember Isabelle, my wife" said Julia as a bunny with brown fur walked into the room.

"Of course I do and I'm sorry I missed your wedding" apologized Judy.

"It's okay, Judith...I'm sure being the first rabbit police officer in a big city like Zootopia must be very tough and busy" Isabelle winked at the grey bunny.

"My Isa is very busy too, she's the leader of the main liberal political party of Bunnyburrow" commented Julia.

"We just need to make the burrows a more tolerant, a place where predators are no longer feared, but welcomed" smiled the brown bunny.

"It's great to know someone else wants to make the world a better place" Judy shook Isabelle’s paw.

"Well, we are gonna get going now, see you around" said Julia before walking out of the room.

"Goodbye, Judith" added Isabelle.

"Bye" the grey bunny waved her paw at Cotton, who waved back at her.

After the three bunnies left, Judy decided to unpack. Meanwhile, in Zootopia, Nick finished his breakfast and left the bar, not without giving a pair of kisses to Mayte.

"And say hello to Finnick from me" said the vixen before going back to work.

"I will" answered Nick as he left the establishment.

Now in the street, the red fox decided to take a walk around Downtown. He wandered and looked at the many shops that decorated their windows with red and green garland, accompanied by some snowflakes or maybe a few ornaments, like balls or candy canes.

In the main square of Downtown there a big Christmas market where people sold, among other things, homemade food, wood carved figurines and some cute plushies with Santa Claus's hats.

While he was there, Nick decided to pick up some gift for his friends. For Ben, a large size jar of chocolate and sugar covered peanuts, for Tina, a small basket of scented candles and for Alex, a warm blanket. When it came to Judy's gift, Nick wasn't sure what to get her, he walked around the market for a few minutes, wondering what would she like, until he found the right stand to make his purchase.

Now with a bag full of gifts, the fox resumed his walk. He walked past the ice rink and the big Christmas tree that, like the whole square, was decorated with lights. An hour later, Nick started to feel bored so he decided to go home.

Once he arrived, he took off his jacket and left the bag he brought with him in his bedroom before sitting on the couch and turning on the TV. Besides the morning news, most of the other channels were showing the same Christmas movies that he had seen last year and the year before.

Since the TV didn't amuse him, Nick decided to cook something, he always liked to cook, since he was little he helped his mother and ended up liking it, that's why he took a recipe book he had in the kitchen and turned the pages until finding a vegetable lasagna that looked really good.

The fox checked his fridge and some of the kitchen cabinets to make sure he had all the ingredients before starting to cook. Not even half an hour later, he had a perfectly assembled vegetable lasagna.

So after putting his meal in the oven and starting to bake it, Nick went back to the living room and lay down on the couch to watch the news.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	4. Lunchtime

By the time the news report was over, Nick was comfortably asleep on his couch until his snout noticed a weird smell. He slowly got up and stretched before opening his eyes and noticing the dark cloud of smoke that came out of the kitchen.

"Shit" the fox quickly got up and tried not to trip with his furniture as he walked into the kitchen.

He covered his eyes with his arm to protect himself from the smoke while trying to turn off the oven, once he did, Nick opened the kitchen window and waited for the fire to go out.

After a few minutes, the fox used a pair of oven mitts to get his burned lasagna out of the oven before throwing it away. Then he proceeded to get his phone to order some food from a pizzeria near Little Rodentia.

In Bunnyburrow, Judy just finished unpacking her suitcase. She greeted and hugged a few of her siblings as she walked through the corridors of the burrow while walking into the main living room again, where Jenna and Joanna were waiting for her.

"Judy, we're going for a walk around the Christmas market, wanna come?" suggested Jenna.

"I was actually thinking of helping mom with lunch"

"Oh, don't worry about that, sweetie…" Bonnie overheard their conversation and walked out of the kitchen wearing a stained apron "...Julia and Isa are helping me"

"And what about Cotton?" the grey bunny asked about her niece.

"Your father is taking care of her" smiled Bonnie as Stu walked into the room with the baby in his arms.

"Yeah, everything is fine here, you girls have fun" said his father in a low voice so he didn't wake up Cotton.

"Well, let's go then" Judy went outside with Jenna and Joanna.

As the three bunnies walked to where the market was, they decided to resume their conversation from earlier.

"So, Judy, how's the city like?" excitedly asked Jenna, the youngest of the bunny trio.

"It's...different, everything is so big, there are mammals of all kind and they live together despite their differences" explained Judy.

"Sounds like a great place to live, are there many hares there?" replied Jenna.

"Why are you so interested in Zootopia?" chuckled Judy.

"Well, maybe someday I'll move to the big city like my big sister" innocently smiled Jenna.

"At this rate, we'll leave mom and dad alone in Bunnyburrow" thought out loud Joanna.

"Oh, come on...it's normal that young adults emigrate to the big city looking for new job opportunities" said Judy.

"And I'm sure that there's a lot of great restaurants in Zootopia you could work at..." Jenna tried to convince Joanna that she could use her cooking skills at a restaurant in the big city "...oh, I would love to move to Zootopia and open my own office with two couches and my diploma hanged in the wall...Dr. Jenna Marie Hopps, psychologist"

When the three bunnies arrived at the market they just looked at the many stands there were, unlike in Zootopia's Christmas market, there weren't so many gift dedicated stands, most of them were serving food but the bunnies didn't buy anything, instead, they went back home to help with lunch.

As soon as they just walked through the door, Bonnie and Stu had just finished serving the food for their children. Jenna helped Isabelle set the table while Judy and Joanna, along with Julia, brought the food from the kitchen.

Once everyone was sitting at the table, they took turns to serve a plate of carrot salad or potato and cheese pie.

"How was the walk, girls?" asked Bonnie with curiosity.

"Great, we went to see the Christmas market" excitedly replied Jenna.

"You saw the Hopps Family Farm stall, right?" proudly asked Stu.

"No" answered the three bunnies at the same time.

"See? I told you we should have opened a bigger stall" complained Bonnie.

"The size of the stall doesn't matter, it's the quality of our products that attracts the public" stated Stu.

"So, did you like Zootopia, sis?" asked Julia, who was sitting next to Judy.

"Yeah, it's great there...everything is so different, the buildings, the food, the people" smiled Judy.

"You'll have many friends, right?" asked Joanna.

"Of course, there's Ben, a cheetah who works as a receptionist at the ZPD, his sister Tina, she's a forensic, and Alex, Tina's boyfriend, he's an officer like me"

"What about Nick?" asked Jenna.

"Well, Nick's more than a friend..." said Judy before the entire table went silent "...I mean, after what we've been through we've become very close" the grey bunny explained as she looked away to hide her slight blush.

"But he's not your boyfriend" tried to clarify Stu.

"Wait, Nick Wilde?...the fox that helped you with that big case and then became the first police officer of Zootopia?" enthusiastically asked Isabelle.

"Yeah" replied Judy, a little confused.

"So what if she's dating him?" asked Isa before Julia discreetly stepped on her foot.

"I mean, there's not really a problem but a couple between a fox and a bunny is a little...unusual" Bonnie tried to explain herself.

"Of course! We don't have anything against foxes but we never thought of our daughter dating one" added Stu.

"Nick and I are not dating" Judy settled the conversation.

"Anyway, did you guys know little Jen here wants to move to Zootopia too?" said Joanna.

"Don't call me little!" answered the offended nineteen years old bunny.

"What you have to focus on is your studies, young lady" told her his father.

The conversation about Jenna's emancipation went on until the Hopps's family finished eating. Then Stu picked up the dishes from the children's table, who went outside to play as soon as they finished their lunch, while Bonnie prepared some coffee.

Back in Zootopia, Nick already had cleaned his kitchen and got his food delivered so he sat at a little table he had in the living room and enjoyed his pizza while watching what was on the TV. When he finished, the fox lay on the couch again and, since he was very bored, he decided to call Clawhauser.

"Nick!...what's up?" answered the cheetah, who took a little longer than usual to pick up the phone.

"Hey, Ben...I was thinking we could do something lat-"

"Benji...hung up, come on" a female giggle interrupted Nick.

"Sorry, Nick...maybe next time" said Clawhauser before hanging up.

"Well...let's see what's new on Pawflix" the fox grabbed the remote as he got comfortable on his couch.  
  


**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	5. Good Night

It was around 20:00 and Nick was watching an old sitcom that he had already seen a few times while nibbling on some popcorn. The fox was extremely bored, it was the first day of his Christmas vacation and he didn't have any plans besides eating, laying on the couch, and sleeping all day. Nick took his phone with the intention of calling someone, he thought of Finnick but then he remembered that one Christmas they spent together drinking until blacking out and decided to keep scrolling through his contact list.

The fox scrolled and scrolled just to see the names of his friends who, if they didn't have someone to spend Christmas with, had other plans. Nick was about to leave his phone on the little tea table he had in front of the couch when it suddenly started to ring. The fox's ears tensed as the name of Judy popped up on the screen, along with a picture of them. Nick quickly sat up on the couch and fixed the fur on his face before pressing the green button on his screen.

"Hi, Nick!" both Judy's voice and face warmed the fox's chest and made his eyes shine.

"Hi, Carrots" replied Nick as he slightly smiled.

"How's it going?" asked the grey bunny, who wasn't hiding her smile.

"I can't complain, I'm a little bit bored but it's better than doing thing for Chief Buffalo Butt...how about you? Have you missed me a lot?"

"Well, I must admit it's been weird coming back here after a year, but it's also good to see my family again...just when I arrived this morning I went for a walk with two of my sisters, we went to see the Christmas market and then walked back home for lunch, after that we've just been talking in the living room but I sneaked out to talk with you...anyway, how was your day?"

"Hmmm...I went out to get some breakfast and then I took a walk around Downtown, then I went back home, almost burned my kitchen down, ordered some food and now I'm watching Pawflix as I eat popcorn" Nick summed up his day.

"You almost burned your kitchen down? What happened? I thought you knew how to cook" giggled the grey bunny.

"I know how to cook...I just fell asleep with a lasagna in the oven" said Nick with a slightly embarrassed tone of voice.

"Oh god" laughed Judy.

"Yeah, yeah...very funny, Fluff" the fox rolled his eyes "...by the way, you didn't tell me when you are coming back"

"Well...I was thinking of going back on the 30th, that way we could spend New Year's together...if you don't have any plans of course"

"That sounds great, Carrots" said Nick with complete sincerity.

"Judy! Dinner's ready!" the voice of one of the grey bunny's sisters interrupted their conversation.

"I have to go now, Slick, I'll call you tomorrow, good night"

"Hey! Are you talking with the fox?" Judy sister's voice was the last thing the fox heard before the call ended.

"Good night" said Nick to himself before smiling.

Nick went to put his phone down, but he noticed his contact list was opened by the letter 'M'. He hadn't called his mother in over a year, before he met Judy, but something inside him suddenly wanted to call her even if it just was to say hi. The fox pressed a button and the called started.

"Nick?" answered her mother with a surprised tone of voice after a few seconds.

"Hi, mom…look, I wanted to talk with you but I know it's been a really long time and this kind of things shouldn't be done over the phone so...what do you think if we meet tomorrow to catch up" the fox left her speechless for a few seconds.

"Nicky, I would love that...you can come home to have lunch if you want"

"Alright, see you around 14:00 then"

"Oh, and Nick, before you go, is everything alright? Has something bad happened? Are you eating well?" she couldn't help to worry about her son.

"Yeah, mom...everything's fine, see you tomorrow, good night" said Nick before hanging up and walking straight into his room to get some sleep.

After having dinner, Judy said good night to a few of her relatives before heading to her bedroom.

"Psst, Judy..." Joanna, who was peeking out of her room door, caught her attention "...come here, I wanna show you something"

The grey bunny walked into her sister's room, but she didn't find anything unusual.

"What did you wanna show me?" asked Judy confused.

"Remember that little room we discovered when we were like 7?"

"The one we used to hide in when mom and dad wanted us to help them with the farm?"

"Yep...I remember how we just had a pair of blankets and a flashlight to enlighten us in there, so I decided to redecorate it a little bit" said Joanna as she opened the doors of her built-in wardrobe, inside which was a smaller door that led to the bunny's secret room.

The room was not very big, it was just the right size for a mattress, which was covered with blankets and pillows, the room was decorated with a few colorful LED strip lights and some little bunny plushies.

"Wow, looks great" said Judy as she looked around.

"It's even soundproof" Joanna felt the cork on the walls.

"I don't wanna imagine what you've done in here" the grey bunny walked out of the wardrobe.

"Hey, don't think like that…I've never brought a single boy here"

"Yeah, sure"

"And talking about boys...are you really sure you haven't met, you know, someone?" curiously asked Joanna as she lowered her voice.

"Good night, Joanna" Judy rolled her eyes as she walked out the room.

"Good night, Judy...but remember that I'm here for you if you wanna talk about anything" said the bunny's sister before closing the door of the room.

Judy's room was right in front of Joanna's so it just took the grey bunny a few steps to walk into her room. She changed her clothes to a more comfortable ones she brought in her suitcase before getting into bed and tucking herself real good before falling asleep.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	6. Family Reunion

Nick woke up with the salty feeling of the popcorn he ate last night on his mouth, he slowly opened his green eyes just to close them again due to the bright sunlight that came through the window. The fox used the pillow to cover his head while blindly reaching for his cellphone, which he left on the bedside table.

"11:27" he read on the screen.

The red fox stretched his legs before getting out of bed and stepping on the cold floor of his apartment. The first thing he did was take some clothes before jumping in the shower, once he was really awake, Nick got dressed up before leaving his apartment to head for Mayte's bar.

Unlike the previous day, the bar was packed. Just as soon as he walked in, the fox saw the vixen walking around the tables while carrying a tray full of cups and glasses. Nick sat at the bar counter and waited for a few minutes while playing with one of those napkins dispensers until Mayte was able to serve him.

"The usual?" asked the vixen as she began to quickly clean some dirty glasses.

"Yeah, decaf with extra soy milk-"

"And saccharine…coming right up…" Mayte smiled before preparing Nick's drink with the coffee maker she had behind her, after adding the corresponding amount of soy milk to the fresh decaffeinated coffee, the vixen got a saccharine packet and put it on a little plate next to the coffee cup "...do you want something to eat?" she asked while handing him his drink.

"No thanks, I'm gonna have lunch with my mother later and I'm sure she'll make a ton of food" said the fox as he stirred the coffee after pouring the saccharine.

"Oh! When was the last time you saw her?"

"Over a year"

"Well, it's never too late to recover lost time" the vixen winked at him before walking away from the counter to attend other customers.

After finishing his coffee, Nick left a couple of dollars next to the empty cup before looking at the vixen, who was still very busy, so they waved at each other as the fox left the bar. He looked at the time on his phone, it was around 12:00 so the fox decided to head for the subway station in Peak Street.

Since the Peak Street station was the beginning of the line, Nick had to travel across Sahara Square and Tundratown before arriving at the Rainforest District, where his mother's house was located.

After more than 15 stops, the fox finally arrived at his destination, Fog Street. After getting off the subway, he felt a tingling sensation in his feet but the fox didn't know if it was because of standing in the subway for 30 minutes or because of how nervous he was.

The fox looked around the landscape of the Rainforest District, characteristic for its many gigantic trees. He had been there a few times in the past year, most of them while patrolling with the grey bunny he had as a partner but none of them to visit his mother, thing that he regretted more and more.

Nick spent some minutes walking through the slightly wet streets and crossing a couple of bridges before standing in front of a giant tree that worked as a building, inside of it there was an elevator and at the top, there were some houses, one of them being his mother's.

He opened the elevator's gate and pushed the button that took him to the treetop. His mother's house was on a round wooden base, from which many plants hung, it wasn't too big nor too small but it had two floors. Nick felt a shiver down his spine as he took a few steps on the wood before he stood in front of her mother's door and, after he slowly extended his paw, rang the doorbell. The next seconds seemed like an eternity to Nick but when the door opened and the red vixen appeared behind it, they both stared at each other, not knowing how to react.

"H-hi" stuttered Nick.

"Hi?" his mother asked as she slowly walked towards her son.

"Mom I-" the fox was interrupted by a sudden hug from the vixen.

Her arms surrounded Nick's neck while one of her paws felt the fur of one of his ears.

"Oh, Nicky…" sighed his mother when the fox corresponded her hug "...come on, let's get inside" the vixen caressed her son's cheek and gave him a kiss after the hug, which lasted almost a minute.

"You haven't aged a day since the last day I saw you" said Nick as his mother helped him get his coat off.

"You look great too, sweetie...it seems that working has been good for you" smiled the vixen.

"Working?"

"Did you really think I wasn't going to find out that my son worked at the ZPD?"

"But how did you-"

"Well, everything started when your face appeared all over the news...local fox helps bunny cop save the city...I was very proud, and when I thought I couldn't be prouder, one day, that bunny showed up here and told me you were training to become a cop...you can't even imagine how I felt the day I saw you wearing that blue uniform when she gave you your badge" remember the vixen with tearful eyes.

"You were at my graduation?" asked the shocked fox.

"Of course I was!"

"And how come I didn't know it?"

"Well, one of the times Judith came to visit she gave me an envelope with the invitation...I regret not walking up to you to say you how proud of you I was at that moment, Nicky" the vixen caressed her son's face before they both hugged.

"Wait, one of the times Judy came to visit? How many times did she come here?" asked the fox without breaking the hug.

"Oh, just a few but we've become very good friends...by the way, do you and Judith have something...special? Because I would love to have her as my daughter in law"

"We're very good friends too, mom"

Both foxes kept hugging until they heard a _*ding*_ that came from the kitchen.

"That must be the blueberry pie!" said the vixen as she rushed to the kitchen.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	7. Mother and Son

After taking all kinds of plates to the dining room, Nick and her mom sat at the table. The fox tried to get a piece of the blueberry pie, but her mother slapped his paw.

"That's the dessert, Nicky" the vixen complained about her son's childish behavior.

Nick pouted as he served himself a veggie omelet and a few vegan meatballs. His mother smiled while she watched him enjoy the food before reaching for one of his paws.

"Is something wrong, mom?" asked Nick as he watched her stand up.

The vixen walked up to her son and wrapped her arms around his neck before repeatedly kissing one of his cheeks, warming Nick's heart. After that, she sat down again and started to eat.

"So...how's everything at work? What's it like working at the ZPD?" curiously asked the fox's mom.

"It's great, it feels very good to help make the world safer"

"Oh, dear...you've spent so much time with Judith you are starting to sound like her" the vixen couldn't avoid laughing.

"Well, she's my partner and my best friend after all"

"And what kind of things do you do there? They don't have you both just filling paperwork out, do they?"

"Sometimes, but most of the time we patrol around the city or do parking duty, we have only participated in special missions a few times"

"Special missions? That sounds dangerous, Nicky"

"Don't worry, mom, Judy and I are very careful"

"I hope so…and talking about Judith, if you're not dating her, are you dating someone?"

"Ehh...no, mom, I'm not dating anyone"

"And what are you waiting for? Now that you have a good job you need to think about settling down, besides, I'm starting to think that you'll never give me grandkits"

"Maybe in a few years, mom, maybe in a few years"

Both foxes continued eating as the vixen noticed the smile on her son's face was suddenly gone.

"Is something wrong with the food, sweetie?" asked the worried mother as she held Nick's paw.

"Uh? N-no, the food is great" the fox ate a few meatballs in a row to prove it.

"You miss her, don't you?..." the vixen's comment tensed her son's ears "...Judith I mean, she's out of the city, right?"

"How do you know?" Nick's ears leaned back.

"She told me the last time she came to visit"

"Yeah, she left yesterday to visit her parents at Bunnyburrow" the fox leaned back on the chair.

"By the look of your face, it seems like she left a few weeks ago"

"It's not that I miss her…" he crossed his arms and stayed silent for a few seconds "...well, maybe I miss her a bit" said the fox as he looked at the floor and lowered his tone of voice.

"Hey, it's okay, sweetie" the vixen softly caressed her son's arm.

"I even had a few special plans, I wanted to take her to the big ice rink in Tundratown, invite her to have Christmas dinner at my place, exchange presents...but she told me she was leaving the day before, what can I do?"

"You can always make a visit" suggested the vixen.

"A visit?" Nick raised one of his eyebrows.

"Yeah, you get a train early in the morning, spend the day with her, and then you come back in the last train" her idea immediately put a smile on the fox's face.

"Well, now I know what I'm going to do tomorrow" enthusiastically said the fox.

"You're going to visit her tomorrow!?" asked the vixen, surprised.

"Yeah, why?"

"I mean, if you wanna see her so bad maybe it's because you like her" said the vixen as she started picking up the dishes.

"Don't be ridiculous, mom, Judy's just-"

"A friend, a very good friend, I know" the vixen smiled.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	8. A Nice Afternoon

In Bunnyburrow, Judy and her sisters just finished having lunch and thought of going for a walk, but their mother interrupted them.

"Jenna, Joanna can you girls do me a favor?" asked Bonnie as she started picking up the dirty dishes.

"Sure, mom! What is it?" said Joanna while helping her.

"Can you two look after the market stall for a few hours?"

"But weren't Travis and Tony in charge of the stall today?" asked Jenna.

"Yes, but Travis was placing some jam jars on a high shelf, fell and hurt his ankle, Tony took him to the hospital"

"Well, let's go, Jenna" Joanna got her jacket and waited for her younger sister.

"Judy, come with us...it's not like you have anything else to do" suggested Jenna.

"You're not gonna let me stay here, huh?" asked the purple-eyed bunny.

"Nope" the younger sister grabbed Judy by the arm and they both left the burrow with Joanna.

The three bunnies walked to the main square and wandered around the market until finding their family's farm stall.

"Ta-da" said Joanna after using a key she took out of her pocket to open the stall.

The stall was full of a wide variety of vegetables, including their well-known carrots. There was also a spot for berries and jam.

"It's very cold in here" complained Judy.

"You should've brought a jacket" said Jenna as she put her hands in her pockets.

"What do you mean? You didn't let me!" the grey bunny frowned and crossed her arms.

"Don't worry, we have a heater under the counter" Joanna turned it on and warmed the three bunnies in the stall.

"Mmm...much better" smiled Judy when she felt the heat.

"So, Judy...how is it to be a cop? Have you shot someone?" asked the younger bunny.

"What? No" she answered.

"Well, they give you a gun, don't they?" said Jenna with curiosity.

"Yeah, but I don't go around the city shooting people that don't pay their parking tickets" explained Judy.

"Oh, they still have you on parking duty?" asked Joanna surprised.

"No...well, sometimes...but now Nick and I mostly do vigilance shifts or paperwork"

"Uhhh...Nick and you in a car all night? That sound suspicious" smiled Joanna.

"Har Har" said Judy as she rolled her eyes.

The three bunnies kept chatting until an old bunny lady walked up to the counter to ask for some ingredients to make soup. Jenna and Joanna took a paper bag and started picking up some vegetables while Judy wrote them down on a little notebook.

"How's the world's prettiest bunny doing?" whispered a male rabbit that rested his elbow on the counter.

"Excuse me?" Judy stopped writing and looked at the rabbit.

"O-oh, I'm sorry I've confused you with someone else…" he apologized before looking at the stall sign "...is Joanna here?"

"Luke?" Judy's sister stood up and recognized the bunny.

"Hi, Jojo" smiled the male rabbit.

"Jojo?" asked Judy surprised.

"That's Luke, her boyfriend" explained Jenna.

"Boyfriend?" the purple-eyed bunny raised one of her eyebrows.

"How can you not recognize your girlfriend?" said Joanna as she walked out of the stall to give Luke a hug.

"I'm sorry, babe...you two look very similar…" the rabbit commented about both sister's grayish fur "...but your hazel eyes are unmistakably beautiful" whispered Luke before applying a soft kiss on the bunny's nose.

"What does that even mean?" said Jenna to herself.

"Judy, this is Luke...my boyfriend" smiled Joanna as she hugged the rabbit's arm.

"Nice to meet you, Judy..." Luke shook Judy's paw "...I'd love to stay, but I need to get back to the firm" the rabbit said goodbye to his girlfriend with a kiss on the cheek.

"He's a lawyer" smiled Joanna before walking inside the stall again.

"And when did you plan to tell me?" slyly smiled Judy while crossing her arms.

"I-I don't know, shut up" blushed Joanna as she finished attending the old lady.

Back in Zootopia, Nick and his mother spent a great evening catching up, after finishing part of the delicious blueberry cake his mother baked for him, Nick sat on the couch with her and told her about all the little adventures he lived alongside Judy since he met her and, although the vixen already heard a few of them from Judy, she enjoyed every second her son was with her.

After the storytime ended, Nick's mother made some coffee and showed the fox a photo album in which she had a bunch of pictures from Nick's childhood and a few photos that Judy gave her the times she visited the vixen.

Before Nick left the house, his mother put all the food that was left from lunch in a bag and made his son take it home.

"Are you sure you have everything?" asked the vixen worried.

"Yes, mom, don't worry" the fox smiled and caressed his mother cheek.

"Well, have a good time at Bunnytown tomorrow...and tell Judith I said hi" the vixen caressed Nick back.

"I promise I'll visit you again this week" the fox gently kissed her on the forehead.

"I love you so much, Nicky" his mother warmly smiled before hugging her son.

"I love you too, mom" the fox corresponded the hug before leaving for the subway station to go back home.

**TO BE CONTINUED…**


	9. Nick’s Here!

As soon as Nick got home, he turned on his laptop and browsed the Zootopia Train Station page to buy a ticket to Bunnyburrow for the next day. Then he ate some of the food he brought from his mother's house, including a piece of her blueberry cake accompanied by a glass of warm milk that helped him fall asleep easier.

Judy and her sisters closed their family farm stall and went home too. The three bunnies had dinner alone because their young siblings were sleeping or watching TV in the living room with Bonnie and Stu.

When Judy finished eating, she washed her dish and said goodnight to her sisters before going to her room to get some sleep. She brushed her teeth, changed her clothes, and left the phone on the bedside table before realizing she didn't call Nick.

"He's probably sleeping..." said the bunny to herself as she checked the time "...I'll call him tomorrow"

Judy got into bed and, after a big yawn, she tucked herself nicely and fell asleep.

Around 10 a.m, Nick's phone alarm went off, waking up the fox. He got up and stretched as he walked into the bathroom to brush his teeth and take a shower. Once he dried his fur with a towel, the fox dressed up with a pair of jeans, a grey turtleneck, and a black jacket.

Nick left his apartment and walked to the train station, he had some spare time before his train left so he decided to get some breakfast at the cafeteria. After drinking a coffee and eating a chocolate palm, the fox waited on the platform for the train.

Meanwhile, the bunny was having breakfast with her family. Judy, Jenna, and Joanna didn't have any plans so Bonnie suggested they could help their father with the farm. The three sisters didn't seem very excited about that idea so their older sister, Julia, asked them if they could babysit Cotton while she went Christmas shopping with Isabelle.

The three bunnies spent the morning looking after their niece. They played with her in the backyard for a while before going inside to watch some TV.

_*Ding* *Dong*_

"I'll go get it..." Jenna got up from the couch and walked to the door "...hi…" said the bunny after opening the door and seeing none other than Nick standing on their porch "...can I help you?"

"Yeah, I'm looking for Judy, this is the Hopps family house, right?" asked the fox with a smile on his face.

"Oh! Sure, just a sec…" Jenna closed the door and walked back to the living room "...Judy, a handsome fox is asking for you at the door"

Judy rushed to the door, followed by her two sisters who stayed eavesdropping while the grey bunny went out to the porch.

"Nick!..." her ears tensed with surprise "...what are you doing here?" she asked with a small smile of excitement on her face while closing the door behind her.

"Well…I just wanted to know if a certain bunny wanted to grab a drink" smirked the fox.

"Oh, really?...you came from Zootopia just to have a drink with me?" Judy crossed her arms and copied Nick's smirk.

"We can have lunch too" the fox's answer made her chuckle.

"Okay, slick, you've convinced" smiled the bunny before turning around.

"Carrots, wait…" Nick put his paw on Judy's shoulder and lowered his tone of voice "...the truth is that it's been weird not having a dumb bunny around these couple of days and, although I spend Christmas by myself every year, I felt a little bit lonely"

Judy just answered with a hug, which was corresponded by Nick.

"It's been weird not having you around too, dumb fox…" said the bunny as she took him by the hand "...come on, let's get inside, I want to introduce you to my sisters"

When Judy opened the door, Jenna and Joanna were standing in front of them, smiling as if they didn't just eavesdropped the whole conversation.

"Nick, this is Jenna, my younger sister, and Joanna, were both the same age"

"It's a pleasure to meet you, ladies...I'm sure your sister has already told you a lot about me" the fox smiled charmingly.

"Well, she indeed has...nice to meet you, Nick" Joanna shook the fox's paw.

"Nice to meet you too…" Jenna did the same "...see? I told you he looks just like the guy from Robin Hood" she whispered to Joanna.

"Okay, I'm gonna change my clothes, you don't mind waiting here for a few minutes, do you?" asked the grey bunny.

"Of course not! That way your sisters and I can get to know each other better" said the fox before Judy went to her room.

"So...Nick, you're Judy's partner at the Zootopia Police Department, huh?" asked Joanna as she crossed her arms.

"That's right, we're coworkers and very good friends" nodded the fox.

"And how did you two met?" curiously asked Jenna.

"Didn't she tell you?" Nick raised one of his eyebrows.

"Well, we know you helped her with the night howlers case" commented Joanna.

"I did, yeah, but before that, your sister and I met at an ice cream shop, I forgot my wallet and she was generous enough to pay for me" lied the fox.

"She bought you an ice cream?" said Joanna confused.

"Yep, as I said she's the kindest mammal I've met"

"Oh, so that's why you helped her with the case" concluded Jenna.

"Exactly, how could I refuse to help someone that behaved so nicely with a fox that she'd never seen before?" slyly smiled the fox.

"Nick, I'm ready!" said Judy as she walked back to the living room, wearing a beige sweater and a pair of black pants.

"Well, it was nice chatting with you, girls, but now I've got to take somebunny to lunch" Nick said goodbye to the Hopps sisters and left the house with Judy.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


End file.
